4 Mets Takeaways From Mets Series Split in Atlanta: Its Never Easy with the Mets

After taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves back in June at Citi Field, the New York Mets were unable to win the series this time around. In their first divisional road test under interim manager Andy Green, the Mets saw much of the same reality as before: spotty starting pitching, poor defense, not enough offense.

New York almost let their lone win of this series slip away before stopping Atlanta at five of the six runs they would have needed to squash the Mets' lead on Saturday in Atlanta. The Mets entered the ninth inning with a six-run lead and escaped the game with a slim one-run victory. In the final game, the Mets were down to their final out against Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias before Juan Soto slugged a three-run homer to give New York a 5-3 lead that they eventually blew en route to another bad loss.

The Mets have taken yet another nosedive in recent weeks, now sitting firmly as the second-worst team in the National League, and they could find themselves in the bottom spot before long. With trade rumors and constant criticism dominating conversations around the team, it is no wonder that they’re playing their worst baseball of the season.

The Mets suffered a similar fate in Atlanta during the Fourth of July festivities: ugly baseball and poor fundamentals. At this point in a lost season, the Mets are looking to get a head start on offseason questions more than anything else, hoping to find early answers in July and August. Unfortunately, this series left more questions unanswered and might have even proposed a query or two.

The Mets are heading in the wrong direction at seventeen games under the .500 mark. However, they need to be heavily considering these three topics as they return to Citi Field to close out their historically awful first half.

4) The Mets have a Devin Williams Problem

When the Mets signed closer Devin Williams to a three-year contract this winter to be the heir to Edwin Diaz, the Mets were putting a great deal of faith in him bouncing back from his weird 2025 season with the Yankees and returning to the closer that Mets' President of Baseball Operations David Stearns worked with extensively in Milwaukee with the Brewers. Instead, Williams' ERA is worse than what he had last year with the Yankees.

3) Sean Manaea is far from a sure thing

After a strong first two starts from Manaea, the veteran left-handed starter has struggled off and on. He hasn’t been helped by his defense much, but his command has begun to slip, culminating in six earned runs against the Braves on Saturday. He was consistently missing his spots and leaving pitches over the plate, which, considering his velocity tops at 93 mph, makes him very attackable when he is not effective.

Over his last five starts, Manaea owns a 5.40 ERA and is averaging five innings a start, which is far from enough to pencil him into the Mets’ 2027 rotation. His contract will likely keep him around, considering he is set to make $22 million next year, but he’ll need much better starts down the stretch to earn himself a rotation spot for next year.

One of the biggest questions around the Mets as the season ends will be who figures into their 2027 rotation that is currently on the roster, especially as the trade deadline looms. Manaea figures to have the inside track on a spot, but could absolutely pitch himself out of consideration in the next few weeks.

2) Christian Scott has a length and home run problem

By most statistics, Christian Scott has been the Mets’ best starter in 2026. His 3.49 ERA and K/9 around 11 are incredible sights to see, but some other concerning data points leave more questions than answers for the former top-100 prospect. In his three most recent starts, Scott has run high strikeout totals but allowed a handful of homers and has not made it out of the fifth inning as a result.

Christian Scott strikes out the side! pic.twitter.com/nmqs2WqKs3
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2026

He has totaled 19 strikeouts and six homers over 13 innings pitched in those three starts, which has resulted in nine earned runs during that time. Following his 5.2 shutout innings in San Diego, Scott’s ERA hit a season-best 2.50, but it has gone up by a full run in the three starts since.

If Scott is going to earn a spot in the Mets’ 2027 rotation, which he very easily still can do, he’ll need to find a way to prolong his starts and limit the long ball. The rest of his stats paint the picture of an effective mid-rotation starter, and he has the stuff to be a legitimately good starter, but the length and homer issues could be enough to put his spot in question.

It has become a concerning stretch for the Mets starter, but there are plenty of reasons to believe he can work through it.

1) A.J. Ewing should face more left-handed pitching moving forward

The Mets have been moving A.J. Ewing around the batting order in recent weeks. It hasn’t impacted his results too much, considering he still owns a .826 OPS in his last 15 games, and has given the rookie center fielder a bigger role in the Mets’ offense. As a result, he’s seen more time against left-handed pitching. For the year, his OPS against lefties now sits at a respectable .724. Since being called up, two of his five homers have come against southpaws.

Ewing leaves the yard 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZXrXxy48YA
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 5, 2026

The Mets seem likely to continue using Ewing in the top third of the lineup, which should help him see more left-handed pitching in the coming weeks and months. If the Mets are going to find out to what extent they can count on Ewing next year, they’ll need to see how he fares against legitimate lefty starting and relief options.

Sitting him in these matchups doesn’t make a ton of sense for a team out of the playoff race, which should help Ewing see more time in these spots. The Mets only have six games remaining before the mid-summer break, and with unclear pitching matchups on their horizon, Ewing’s next chance against a lefty might not be until after the All-Star Game.

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